The fine folks over at Bleacher Report are in the middle of College Football Commitment Week, and the Michigan State Spartans were the beneficiary of the announcement made on Thursday.

After watching other Big Ten schools landing huge names on the recruiting trail, it was good news for Mark Dantonio and Co. as 4-star tight end Matt Dotson made his verbal commitment in video form courtesy of Bleacher Report:

The 6-foot-5, 235-pound tight end was a massive get for the Spartans, as Dotson held offers from just about every Big Ten powerhouse. That offer list included in-state school Ohio State, but the Cincinnati native chose Dantonio and the banks of the Red Cedar river instead.

“I really enjoyed the environment,” Dotson said. The 247Sports Composite ranks him as the nation’s No. 9 tight end and No. 13 player in Ohio overall. “I’ll be the sixth player from Moeller going there in the past eight years so I’m looking to carry on the tradition and be successful.”

Ultimately, it wasn’t so much the in-state Buckeyes that were pitted against the Spartans, as Dotson narrowed his choice to just MSU and Penn State in the end.

Apparently it was Dantonio’s personal touch that won the day, as Dotson noticed how important he was to the head coach on his last visit to East Lansing.

“Just all the time spending with Coach Dantonio,” Dotson started in. “We spent most of the day together on my last visit. He was running a camp but took time out of the day to spend most of it with me.

“I felt it. That’s where I wanted to go.”

He is the No. 9-ranked tight end in the country and the No. 13-ranked player in the state of Ohio, and gives MSU its fifth player from the state of Ohio in the 2017 class. Dotson is the second highest rated player to commit to the Spartans so far, only topped by offensive guard Kevin Jarvis.

The Spartans jump up to the No. 21 ranking overall in the nation and have the No. 7 class in the Big Ten thus far in the 2017 recruiting cycle.

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Andy Coppens is the Founder and Publisher of Talking10. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and has been covering college sports in some capacity since 2008. You can follow him on Twitter @AndyOnFootball